The Intrinsic Nature of God’s Love

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute

Introduction

The declaration of Scripture, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), stands not as a description of God’s behavior alone, but as an ontological statement of His very essence. Love is not merely one of God’s many attributes, nor a quality that He assumes in relation to creation, but the intrinsic essence of His being. Just as His holiness and glory are not created nor dependent upon the existence of the world, but eternally existent in and of Himself, so too is love. To deny that love is the essence of God is to misunderstand the fundamental nature of divine reality.

The Ontological Ground of Love

Theologically, love cannot exist independently of God. The modern world often conceives of love as a human construct, an emotional response, or an abstract virtue. Yet such conceptions fail to capture the biblical truth that love exists because God exists. God does not possess love as a quality external to Himself; rather, He is love in His eternal essence. This means that love, like holiness and glory, is not contingent, temporal, or derivative—it is self-existent because God is self-existent (Exod. 3:14, “I AM WHO I AM”).

Within the doctrine of divine simplicity, God is not composed of parts; His essence is identical with His attributes. Thus, His love is not one aspect among many, but the fullness of His being. Just as His holiness is not created but eternally radiant from His nature, and His glory not borrowed but eternally shining from His existence, so His love is uncreated, eternal, and unchanging.

Love in the Trinity

The eternal nature of divine love is most profoundly revealed in the Trinity. Before creation existed, before a single creature could receive love, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed in perfect fellowship of love. Augustine writes that within the Trinity, the Father is the Lover, the Son is the Beloved, and the Spirit is the bond of love. This eternal communion demonstrates that love is not dependent on creation; it is ontologically prior to all things. The existence of love in God Himself affirms that love is eternal because God is eternal.

The Manifestation of God’s Love

Although love is intrinsic to God’s essence, it is not static but active. God’s love flows outward in creation and redemption as an expression of His being. Creation itself is an act of love, not because God needed the world, but because His love is so abundant that it freely overflows into existence. Redemption through Christ is the highest manifestation of this love: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Christ’s atonement reveals the eternal reality of divine love breaking into history, not as a new act, but as the eternal love of God manifest in time.

Theological Implications

1. Love as Divine Essence, Not Attribute: To treat love as a mere attribute risks reducing God to a composite being who has love rather than is love. The doctrine of divine simplicity insists that God is identical with His attributes; hence, to know God is to know love in its purest form.

2. Love as Eternal and Self-Existent: Since love is grounded in God’s being, it neither originates from human experience nor evolves through history. Instead, it is eternal, necessary, and unchanging.

3. Love as the Basis of Christian Life: If God’s very essence is love, then Christian existence must flow from this reality. Believers are not called merely to imitate a quality of God but to participate in His divine essence (2 Pet. 1:4). To love, therefore, is to reflect the very being of God who indwells us through His Spirit.

Conclusion

The love of God is not an attribute among many but His very essence—intrinsic, eternal, and uncreated. Just as God’s holiness and glory exist eternally because God Himself is eternal, so His love exists because God is. To confess “God is love” is to confess that the very ground of reality, the eternal “I AM,” is love itself. This love is revealed in the eternal communion of the Trinity and manifested supremely in the redemptive work of Christ. Thus, all love that is true and holy finds its origin not in human emotion but in the eternal God, who is blessed forever. Amen.

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